Sunhill's Residant Romeo
by RiddledWithLies
Summary: Um..well in my opinion this is how I think the whole Neil/Grace thing should have fizzled out with stevie/Smithy pairing aswell ;D PLease tell me what you think !
1. Chapter 1

**This is a fanfic idea I've had in my head for a while buuuut I just wasn't sure whether or not I should put it up… **

**I don't own the bill by the way and I don't own any of the charectors :(**

**I hope you like it , I know I'm kinda rejecting my other fic at the moment but I really wanted to post this up ;)**

Stevie shuffled her papers together clearing her stuff away from the interview room viewing room. Sighing at having received 'no comments' throughout the whole of Grace's interview she looked up to see Grace through the glass, whose expression seemed to echo her thoughts. They were both annoyed. Simon Williams, a well known rapist, was going to get away with it again! He had managed to get to his victim, Clara Silcon, _and now she isn't going to_ be_ pressing charges…_Stevie sighed again. _I really need a pick me up!_ She leant against the wall behind her, watching as Grace sat down in the interview room and listened to the interview. _I can't wait to get out of here._

Sorting herself out she went to leave to get back to her paper work but as she did she heard the door open; _now this is much more interesting than paperwork. _She thought as she smiled mischievously to herself.

Neil looked through the window separating him from CID, a window that had pretty much become the line between his colleges and himself,_ especially since Jake got ill,_ with all except one person. He looked around for her but she wasn't in CID, he knew better than to try the canteen. _Like she'd be in there, even now when she's supposed to be on refs she'll be doing something to do with work._

He walked out the office, ignoring Banksy's questioning gaze that he could feel burning his back. The line was more distinct as he stepped into CID, he could see the difference, Mickey stopped throwing his paper aeroplane that he'd been aiming at Max's head, Terry stopped laughing at Mickey, Max glared at Neil and he felt uncomfortable under Banksy's worried stare. He ignored it though as he went looking for his only comfort.

Grace shuffled the last of her papers and sighed for the last time as she heard the tape finish for the third time in a row. Looking at her watch she heaved a sigh again._ Nearly time to get back to work. _She turned as the door opened expecting to see Stevie and was pleasantly surprised when she saw Neil there.

"Hey." She grinned at him, momentarily forgetting about work.

"Now how did I know you were going to be here?" He said smiling flirtatiously, unlike how he was when everyone else was around, as he started to play with a strand of hair.

"I dunno. Lucky guess I suppose." She smiled as he pulled her into a hug. She melted into his embrace and leant her head against his shoulder, running her fingers through his hair. She drew away, smirking at his confused expression before kissing him. She felt his lips pull into a smile as he let out a small laugh.

Stevie stuck her head out the door and she chuckled as she realized nobody else had seen anything.

"What you laughing at Moss?" Smithy questioned her. He seemed amused when she swiveled around quickly. _She looks like a kid caught steeling candy, and trust me I think I know that look better then most._ She shrugged, making an effort to look indifferent as he loomed over her small figure. They had become close ever since the Lawrence Smith case, and there were still unresolved chemistry between them. He grinned, "I know when you're lying Moss. What's going on? I mean you haven't even interrupted me yet. Something must be wrong." He laughed even more when she gave him a playful shove.

"Shut up! And for your information, there is a very keen game of tennis going on in the room behind me." She smothered a giggle as 'the penny dropped' for Smithy.

"What you mean someone's getting it on in there?" His expression was priceless and Stevie laughed as he tried to make a move for the door, eager to see it with his own eyes. She playfully blocked his path.

"First you have to guess who it is."

"Oi.! I dunno do I. Quit messing about Moss and let me see and that's an order." She gave him a mock salute in surrender before grabbing his hand and pulling him inside.

"Yes Sir!" She replied mockingly. "Come and meet Sunhill's resident Romeo."

Neil withdrew an inch from Grace's lip and his inner self laughed at her bemused expression and her pouted lips but his professional façade set in motion as he heard a slight choking noise from to his left.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Grace said confused but Neil ignored her as he looked into the glass on the wall and he knew that the eyes on the other side of the glass were watching him. Resulting in a muffled "Shit." And the sounds of scuffling and shuffling.

"Stevie." Grace sighed as Neil put his head in is hands cursing his own stupidity.

"Great. Just great. We're going to be station gossip by the end of the day, I mean we can't even keep us a secret. God, is privacy even a word in this nick." He said before walking out the door to catch Stevie.

As expected Smithy's jaw dropped when he saw Neil and Grace together, and he and Stevie were in bursts of muffled laughter, causing Smithy to choke on air., which only made Stevie laugh harder than ever. "Did you hear that?"

Both of them froze in amongst their silent laughter as they turned to see Neil's penetrating, X-ray hard to meet stare on them.

"Shit!" Stevie said, loudly. "Now we are in trouble run. Run to home base, you soldier." She joked, before dashing out the room, with Smithy hot on her tail.

**I don't normally like Stevie and Smithy but after reading a recent fanfic I changed my mind, but Kerry and Smithy are still the best. **

**What do you think? Well whatever you think please review. Should it be a one shot fic or should I continue?**

**Lucy ;)**

**LRC xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for everyone who reviewed . And I got the impression you might like their to be another chapter soooo here you are ;)**

Neil hurried down the corridor scanning them for Stevie, though he had no idea what he was going to say to her when he did see her, and he **would** see her. He didn't even bother with CID, _Ha! Like she'd be there, _he scorned. He hurried up to the custody desk knowing that Smithy, who looked really flushed which went un-noticed by Neil, would know better than anybody where Stevie was as they were literally joined by the hip when not on duty. He could swear he saw Smithy cast a uneasy glance at him as he approached but tried not to think what it could mean, not wanting to think that his personal life had already spread to Smithy._ Then again if Stevie has already seen him he would already know, hmph._

"Hey ... Smithy, would you happen to know where DS Moss would be?" He asked, while Smithy's mouth twitched and he stared to fidget awkwardly trying to act unconcerned.

"Oh, uh, Moss, huh? I dunno, you should try the canteen. May I ask why?" Smithy asked, trying to sound like he didn't have any idea what was happening, which he failed at miserably. Neil narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he saw Smithy tug at his stab proof vest nervously, before saying "Thanks anyway Smithy." He walked away now sure that more apart from Stevie and Banksy knew about Grace and him.

Smithy reached the custody desk in a fluster, having being diverted from following Stevie into the female toilets by Callum, who was now watching him curiously and Smithy could tell that he was wondering what Smithy had been doing. He was still chuckling to himself at what he had seen and he wondered whether Stevie had been caught, which only made him laugh more, earning yet another probing glance from Callum.

"So...Are you still not going to tell me what you were doing earlier? Is there something going on between you and Stevie?" At this Smithy laughed and Callum tried to revise his question.

"Mate you ought to revise your facts.** I'm** not going out with anybody from work."

"Well then what **were** you doing earlier?" He said seeming to get futher annoyed as he got a self conscious cough in response from Smithy.

However, it seemed like he had gotten to the desk just in time as Neil came sauntering over to him. He coughed self consciously again and started shuffling the papers on the desk trying to look like he'd been there the whole time.

"Hey smithy," Smithy cast an awkward glance towards Callum, who seemed to have stopped what he was doing interested by his obvious discomfort, before turning towards Neil. "would you happen to know where DS Moss would be?" He tried to concentrating on his facial expression, as he threatened to laugh, the earlier scene playing over and over in his head. He shuffled some more papers on the desk, trying to busy himself. "Oh, uh, Moss, huh?" He squirmed uncomfortable, with the way the conversation was going, _does he know that I know?_ "I dunno, you should try the canteen." He said, suggesting one place that sounded believable, though he knew she was probably still hiding in the toilets waiting until she knew Neil wouldn't be looking for her, _she'll be back in CID after Refs though, I hope she doesn't put her foot in it._"May I ask why?" He asked trying to sound like he didn't know anything, which only sparked suspicious stares from Neil and Callum. _Jeez, it feels like it's getting really hot in here, _he thought and he started tugging at his stab proof vest and couldn't meet Neil's piercing gaze. Not even expecting an answer anymore Smithy was just relieved when Neil finally dismissed him, saying "Thanks anyway Smithy."

He let out a sigh of relief as Neil stalked away and he turned back to his work, he managed three minutes of work before realising Callum was looking at him. He looked up to meet Callum's amused stare. "What?" Smithy said abruptly, not pleased by Callum's obvious amusement by the situation.

"Are you still trying to say there's nothing going on, cos you and I both know that's a load of bullshit?" He laughed as Smithy tried to glare back, but failing as he thought back to the interview room.

"Okay, no. But I'm still not saying anything, you'll have to get me completely drunk for that." Smithy smirked as he saw Callums deflated yet 'I knew it' look. He knew that he'd have Callum and Neil on his case now.

"Sound like a suggestion, let me buy you a drink later. I'll meet you at the Seven Bells after the shift." He suggested still probing for more information and he saw Smithy's sceptical look. "Come on, it's Friday, most of the relief will be down there, and some of CID." At this Smithy reconsidered, _Stevie would be down there and Neil doesn't normally go to those types of events so it would be a great time to discuss what happened earlier, which is obviously what Callum wanted._ He chose his words carefully, making sure not to say that he would tell him anything. "Okay, as long as you buy the first round."

"I bet I'll find out what you know by the end of Monday." Callum proposed, not wanting Smithy to think he was giving up. Smithy grinned and replied. "Deal. You're so on."

Stevie grinned as she saw Smithy get cut off by Callum. _That's gonna look weird, then again we've done worse._ She thought back to the April fool's day prank they played on Max that ended up with his head in a dustbin. She laughed and checked her watch_; I'll head back at the end of Refs._ She thought. She was just relieved that Neil hadn't caught her and Smithy, though she wasn't sure what wold've happened even if they had, _ I mean, it was Neil and Grace that were kissing in the station not her and Smithy, though that would be something._ She shook her head and headed to CID, earlier than planned, see no one ever expects her to actually be in CID. She stopped off to get a steaming cup of coffee and started to CID.

She had already started on her paper work when Grace entered, getting up she headed over to her.

"Hey Grace." She said, with an obvious gleam in her eye that seemed to ask for information, without saying anything, which Grace seemed to pick up as she sighed.

"What do you want to know?" She asked out front, causing Stevie to laugh.

"Well, what I heard from a little birdie can be discussed later when you come with me to the pub. Yeah? Can we talk about it then?" Stevie said eargerly, not even waiting for a response, as she saw Smithy enter CID. "Talk later." She said to Grace, who for a moment seemed quite amused, everybody else could see the chemistry between them except themselves and Grace being the detective she was could guess everything that was going on between them. "Okay, as long as you tell me everything about you two later." She smirked, as she saw one of the few moments Stevie ever blushed, embarrassed. Grace walked off to her desk leaving Stevie sitting on her desk with her coffee.

"Hey Moss, what you are you doing here, I expected you to still be otherwise...occupied." He greeted her, openly grinning as they both remembered the earlier scene.

Stevie grinned and said, "Nope I finally realised I work here and that if I don't start working soon I might not be working here for much longer." Smithy laughed,"I got referred to CID because of an armed robbery." He informed her looking too pleased with this fact for a police officer at least. "Do you wish to come?" He asked mockingly polite.

"Yes I do so wish to, just give me a chance to finish my coffee." She laughed, playing along as he offered her a hand like a gentleman helping her off the desk.

"Well come along I don't have all day and then we can talk in the car." He smiled as she saluted him and drained the last of her coffee. "Come on shorty." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey I heard that." She said shoving him playfully.

"Good you were meant to." He retorted. "Anyway what's wrong with me call you short? You are short." He laughed more as Stevie grabbed her coat and stalked out of CID in a mock huff and he ran after her to catch up.

Neil sighed as he checked his watch. It was the end of refs, _Stevie would be in CID now, I should get back _he thought hurrying towards CID. He entered and he tried to get over himself as the room fell eerily silent as he walked in, and everyone appeared to be working a little too hard to be true._ What's up with me? _he thought as he became annoyed at himself for being surprised that he was no longer seen as the nice involved boss that everybody liked.

He looked over to see Grace and smiled when he met her eye, he really had found 'The One' this time and he didn't want to screw it up with everone finding out. He restarted the debate with himself as he walked into his office, why should he care if everybody found out about him and Grace? Maybe he had overreacted earlier when he rushed after Stevie? All it would do would damage a bit of his reputation but it would be no worse than it was with Andrea, would it? Maybe he should talk to her later he thought to himself, before deciding that he would and that they'd talk about their relationship. He smiled as he settled that with himself, quickly heading on with some paperwork so he would be able to have time.

"DC Dasari?" He called to CID, his head sticking out of his office. He smiled as their eyes met. "A word please?" She nodded and headed towards a now very familiar office, that she was in more than he own desk.

Banksy found himself staring after Grace as Neil beckoned her in to his office. He had worried about Neil since the whole Jake thing but he was relieved that he now had Grace to look out for him.

"Puurrlease. They are so doing it." Max burst out as soon as Grace was in Neil's office and the door was closed. At which Mickey and Terry stopped pretending to do their work and opened their mouths both ready with a retort. Even though they didn't speak to Neil now they didn't like Max anyway so they didn't take to his jibes at him and Grace. However before they could say anything they were surprised when Banksy snapped defensively. "Shut up Max. Just shut up! You don't know what he's been through the last few weeks." Mickey and Terry realised that they were t of their depth in this argument and took to analysing everything Neil and Grace were doing.

"Oh, and you do?" Max asked, sarcastically not liking to be showed up.

"I know more than you do, to say the least." He said dismissively and Max seemed to glare at him hating to be rendered speechless.

Grace closed the door behind her, knowing that this wasn't about work but aware of the eyes heavy on her shoulders through the window watching their every move.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hey, about earlier...sorry about overreacting earlier." He apologised.

"It's okay. I would hug you if it weren't for the staring people analysing everything we're doing." She laughed as Neil immediately looked to CID and he saw Mickey and Terry pretending to be doing work, obviously not because their pens weren't actually moving across the page. She sighed as she saw him frown." Don't worry about them, stop worrying." He made an effort to look less stressed but he couldn't hide it from her."Ever since the Jake thing I've grown too distant from them." He said.

"Well you could always make up for it tonight. There are drinks at the pub later. Do you want to come?" She knew she was asking a lot of him because usually he never went to any of these event but he surprised her as he thought of how he promised himself he'd talk to her and it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

"Sure I'll pick you up at seven?" She nodded and said "I'd better get going, they're going to get anxious." He smiled and nodded as she walked out to Max's glare wondering what she'd done to make him annoyed at her now, but to be pretty honest she didn't care as she was too busy being excited for later that evening.

**Review...? Was it the right choice to do another chapter?**

**Lucy ;) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last cahpter I'm glad you like my fic and I do hope you enjoy this chapter !**

When Smithy got into the car, out of earshot of others, he grinned and said "You make it back to home base?"

"Yeah. The girls' toilets are really a great home base."

"I know. Callum saw me trying to follow, in the end mine was quite good, my home base was the custody desk, Romeo didn't suspect a thing when he stopped and asked where you were."

"What do you think then?" Stevie asked eagerly.

"I think that Neil and Grace being together is great station gossip, but for now we can have some fun teasing them. What do ya say? You up for it Moss?" Smithy joked knowing that she'd do more to annoy them as she worked alongside them.

"More up for it then you are mate." Stevie scorned.

"You wanna bet?"

"Yeah, see who can pull the most pranks on them then." They stopped off at Kippling Road and headed down to where uniformed officers were taking statements, and shook hands before getting out. Both giving each other the 'yeah-right-like-you'll-be-able-to look'.

"Yep and now we've only got an hour before we can get off to the pub so lets quickly wrap up this robbery, shall we?"

"We shall."

He headed down to where he could see Nate, Ben, Sally, Emma and Will and almost groaned aloud when he saw Callum behind them taking a statement. _Just my luck._ He thought, as Callum looked up and grinned before he could pretend to be busy with something else.

"Something the matter Sarge? Not keeping more secrets are we?" He said and he could see the effect he was having on Smithy, who was looking nervously at Emma, Sally, Nate and Ben who were all watching their little exchange with great interest, almost looking like they were wishing for popcorn to appear so they could sit down and watch a fight that they thought was about to kick off.

"No we're not." Smithy scowled, casting a glance towards Stevie.

"So you admit there is a 'we'" Callum smirked, trapping Smithy in his own words as he too took a wistful glance towards Stevie, who was talking to Jo about the case.

"Shut up or the bets off and I won't even come to the pub." Smithy teased as he saw Callum's annoyed face,_ like I'd miss a trip down the pub with a free beer on my head_.

"Fine fine whatever but you can't deny that **she** and **him** aren't involved." He said and Smithy took that to mean Stevie and Neil and shook his head disbelievingly.

"See you later Stone." He said smiling at Sally, Nate, Emma and Ben's disgruntled faces, at not being able to work out what their Sergeants were on about.

It was the end of the shift for Neil and for the first time since Jake got ill he wasn't last to leave the room. He grabbed his coat and left for home, wondering the last time he'd had a good nights sleep.

It was half past six and he was still in his room trying to decide what to wear, _see this is why I don't go to any of these damn things I'm acting like a stupid little girl,_ he didn't know weather to wear a suit,_ that's much too work like for a pub, _or jeans,_ much too un-work like to wear while I'm hanging round work colleges,_ in the end he decided on black trousers and a blue shirt, _Smart casual,_ he thought before checking his watch and grabbing his coat and keys, heading to pick Grace up.

Grace was waiting in her kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand when the bell rang; she felt butterflies in her stomach before grabbing her coat and mobile and heading to the door.

She opened the door with a smile plastered on her face, "Hey N-"She said before realizing it was Stevie and Smithy. "Are you waiting for someone?" Stevie asked mischievously, with Smithy behind her with an almost identical grin.

"N-no of course not." Grace said, annoyed that they were here and wondering what was the reason behind their visit. "But what the hell are you guys doing here?" She added, checking her watch.

"Now now that's not a nice way to address your colleges that only came to offer you a lift to the pub." Smithy smirked. "Are you sure we're not interrupting anything?" He asked.

Grace was about to deny what she knew they were getting at when she heard the phone ring, seeing this as her escape she went and grabbed the phone off her coffee table, leaving Smithy and Stevie to come in of their own accord and make themselves at home, winking behind Grace's back while they did so, each trying to hide their knowing smirks, Smithy mouthing 'Good idea Moss.'.

"Hello?" Grace said, turning her back on Smithy and Stevie.

"Would you like to tell me what Smithy's car is doing on your drive?" Neil asked sounding quite amused yet at the same time irritated at being delayed.

"Look him and Stevie are here. How about I meet you at the pub?" She muttered hurriedly down the phone.

"Okay." She heard but she could also hear the faintest bit of disappointment in his voice.

"Love you." She said, and she smiled when she heard him laugh and echo 'I love you'.

"See you there, bye!" He said, sounding quite happier than before.

Smithy and Stevie grinned from the other side of the door, reveling in their own achievement as they put their glasses down, removing them from the place their ears had been hooked, listening to every word Grace had said. _Stevie was right _Smithy thought satisfied _we would learn a lot from just spending a couple of minutes at Grace's._

"Okay, sounds like a lift would be a great idea, I just cancelled my taxi." Grace said, unaware that they had heard everything she'd just said on the phone, they shared another knowing glance before agreeing and leading grace to the car.

"Just out of interest, did you both come in this car?" Grace said, turning from the victim into the questioner of information, though they both seemed unfazed.

"Yeah we stopped round at Stevie's before heading to mine, what's the point in taking two cars when we can just take one?" Smithy shrugged the question away and Grace knew that if she had said that excuse about Neil giving her a lift it wouldn't have worked whereas when Smithy said it it sounded viable.

They talked non stop on their way to the pub and managed not to mention work, which was surprising as Grace was in the car, but two minutes away from the pub they finally approached the subject that Smithy and Stevie had been working up to the whole car journey.

"So…. Tell me, is the DI good in bed?" Stevie said bluntly, as Smithy laughed at Grace's obvious blush.

"Wow you're no master of subtlety are you Moss?" At which she just retorted "Nope and your point is?" Turning back to Grace she said "Come on how is he?"

Grace panicked "I don't know what you're talking about and- oh look we're here." She ended her sentence abruptly getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her.

"Way to go Moss. "Smithy smirked sarcastically.

"Like you could have done any better 'I have no emotions soldier Smith'." She said stickin her tongue out childishly.

"Well now she knows I know, you doofus." He laughed as they got out of the car walking towards the pub arms around each others waist.

**Please review ;) **

**The pub will be next up, I promise ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for your lovely reviews, I love them!**

**This is a long chapter …****I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations **

Neil sat in his car drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, too nervous to enter the pub by himself. _See, this is why I wanted Grace here, I feel like a little girl, too scared to go into a pub? God I'm an idiot. No, I'm not….Smithy and Stevie are idiots!_ He shook his head and sighed, deciding to refuse to enter the pub until he saw Grace go in.

He waited about ten minutes and his hand twitched towards his phone, wanting to text her to see if she was near. _Though Smithy and Stevie are with her, I won't text; I wouldn't put it past them to take her phone to see who it was. _Sighing, he slumped back into his seat and waited.

He was relieved when he saw Grace arrive in Smithy's car and opened his car door heading towards the pub, bracing himself for their reaction.

"Hey guys!" Callum shouted after seeing Smithy and Stevie enter and start heading over to the group of Sunhill officers that occupied over half of the pub.

"'Sup Callum." Smithy said rolling his eye as he saw a glint in Callum's eye.

"Later Callum, later..." He promised scornfully as Stevie just looked from one to the other, bemused.

"How come you get to decide when and where?" Callum said trying to look annoyed while he was really

"What the hell are you two on about?" She demanded.

"Nothing nothing Stevie, I mean just ask Smithy..." Callum smirked, helping himself to a drink that Gina had just brought over for the relief. "Cheers Ma'm."

"Smithy…" Stevie threatened.

"It's nothing Moss, I promise."

"You know you two look like a right couple…." Gina noted aloud, as she sat down next to Jack. "W-what? Me an' Moss…doubt-" Smithy said blushing as Gina raised her eyebrows at him.

"I was actually going to say you and Callum." She commented causing Stevie to roar with laughter.

"Come on let's get drunk." Gina said handing them all drinks and Smithy took one quickly and started to drink awkwardly trying to cover his embarrassment.

"'ear 'ear Ma'm ! I thought you'd never ask." Callum grinned dodging the famous right hand aimed towards his head.

"Oi! Watch it Callum!" Smithy shouted amused by Callum's antics.

"By the way, where's Grace?" Smithy asked curiously, looking around to see if he could see her.

"What you're not going out with another person are you?" Callum asked pretending to look wounded as Smithy glared at him, and Callum was glad he was out of hitting distance as he received a kick under the table, winding him.

"No actually sergeant, we gave her a lift and she came in before us." Stevie smirked knowingly as she and Smithy shared a grin at their new found knowledge.

"Oh, well then you can tell us why she came in in such a hissy fit." Callum probed interestedly, knowing that this was something to do with earlier, while he nodded pointedly towards a corner of the room where she and Banksy were standing and seemed to be having a serious conversation.

"Oh just over something Miss word-vomit here said to her." Smithy laughed into his drink receiving a mock slap from Stevie, before turning around as he noticed the whole of the pubs inhabitant go quiet, all peering disbelievingly at the door.

"Oh my God. Do my eyes deceive me or is that actually Neil Mason?" Callum echoed their thoughts, as Neil Manson came through the door.

Neil opened the door and walked in holding his breath, he prepared himself as he heard the door shut noisily behind him seeming to drew familiar gazes to him. The line seemed to appear in front of him as his colleges struggled to regain the composure that they had drunk away. It was silent and no-one seemed to speak as he walked through the crowd towards grace and Banksy

"Hello." He said, breaking the silence that no-one but Stevie had seemed able to talk through.

"N-Guv" Grace quickly covered up her mistake as she remembered where they were.

"I'll get those." He said pointing towards the drinks that had just been set down at the bar, before heading over to the big table that had been pushed together so most of the Sunhill officers could sit together. He observed everyone to start, just to see what they were doing and he had to admit that after observing ten minutes of Callum and Smithy arm wrestling and everyone cheering them on, he actually was glad he'd come.

"Enjoying yourself there?" Grace whispered into his ear so no one else but Banksy could hear.

"Yes, yes I am." He said laughing as the cheers at the other end of the table signified that Callum had lost the arm wrestling match.

"Go Smithy!" The distinctive voices of Gina and Stevie could be picked out from the shouts.

"You Loser Callum!"

"Call yourself Stone, more like jelly."

"Flimsy and soppy, that's more like! I had a tenner on you!" Shouted the voices of Nate, sally, Beth, Ben and Millie.

"I think you owe me a beer." Commented Smithy as he drained the last of his pint, causing Callum to get up grumbling and complaining.

"Do you like what you see Moss?" Grinned Smithy and he started to show off his muscles.

"You know what would be fun?" Callum said as he sat down again and handed Smithy his beer.

"What?"

"A question round, we each take it in turns to ask each other truths." Callum smirked, looking pointedly at Smithy.

"Nah that's for sissies. Let's do a Strip poker."

"Oi superior adults here and we are if you haven't noticed still in the pub." Protested Gina.

"Fine let's be a sissie and do a fire round instead." Stevie grinned mischievously, Callum straightened in his chair keen to use this as a perfect excuse to weasel more information out of Smithy.

"Basically, what you do is ask a question…like do you prefer chips or cabbage and then they have to say the first one that comes into their head, subconsciously almost, as a slip of the tongue." Stevie said, as she saw most of the relief who were mostly drunk by now, were sitting at one big table, all ready to join in.

"I'll start." Announced Callum, and Smithy groaned inwardly anticipating what was about to happen as Callum spun an empty bear bottle, spinning past Banksy, Gina, Grace, Jack, Mickey, Terry, Nate, Sally, Stevie, Neil, Ben, Beth and Millie and slow down to land on him. Them gleam in Callum's eye was unmistakeable as he triumphantly said

"Lets start."

He cast a glance for inspiration on what to start with.

"Uh yeah…Food or Sex?" _You gotta start off small to get big. _Callum thought laughing as Smithy shrugged and said, "Food, I guess." The jeers of Stevie could be heard 'Loser'

"Books or TV"

"TV. I'm not a complete loser Callum." Callum thought for a while.

"God call this a fire round," Smithy said. "This is slower than watching a kettle boil." Callum's expression brightened and he smiled mischievously, and Smithy swallowed loudly.

"Gina or Stevie."

"Stevie." He said absentmindedly, as he started to blush after realising what he'd said.

"You're in for big crap now." Callum chuckled. "No more favouritism from the dragon."

He paused before carrying on. "Police officer or a soldier."

"Soldier. It's less dangerous." Smithy smiled.

"What do ya mean less dangerous?" Stevie laughed, "You'd be out in bombs rather than on the streets of civilisation."

"Yeah but if ya think about it, during my time in the war I got a broken arm and that's it. Whereas throughout my years of policing I've been beat up more than I can care to remember, shot, stabbed, held hostage , nearly died in a fire, framed for a murder I didn't commit after being drugged and beaten up and therefore ending up in prison for a while, going undercover, being accused of rape, been accused of being a homophobe and a racist, shot one of my superior officers accidentally, being accused of attacking Delvin, being accused of ruthlessly murdering again and also been attacked by you Callum." Ranted Smithy to an astonished group of people.

"Wow. You're a proper headcase aren't you Smithy?" Stevie laughed, "But at least now it explains the bad face."

"Shut up." Smithy grinned pushing Stevie as they started a mini mock cat fight. "Carry on anyway Callum." He said to a speechless Callum. "I-uh"

"Okay, okay I think it's someone else's go now." Stevie chuckled, "and also lets change it a bit and do a would you rather…" She added smirking.

She span the empty bottle again.

Grace sat back smiling as she watched Neil observe the antics of their fellow colleges and was still in her little day dream when she was pulled out of it by Neil nudging her.

"Grace…Gracey…" Stevie was calling.

"Yeah," she managed; embarrassed by the fact that everyone had caught her staring at Neil. "What?"

"My god, you really haven't been paying attention have you?" Stevie tutted sarcastically, "Something catch your eye?" She joked, and Grace blushed knowing exactly what Stevie was getting at. "Anyhoo, it's you to start would you rather..."

"Ha! I'm not playing." Grace protested as Stevie started asking, 'would you rather…?'

"I'm really not playing" She insisted, she looked to Neil for support but he just smiled crookedly and shrugged as if to say 'why not?'

"Fine."

"That's the spirit." Stevie laughed. "Now shut up and listen. Would you rather….go out with Smithy or Callum?" Grace looked at them laughing, as they showed off their pecks, she pretended to consider as she sized them up.

"Smithy." They all stared laughing at Callum, until Stevie shushed them.

"Go out to a restaurant or stay at home with your chosen individual?" Stevie asked knowing exactly who Grace was choosing in her head. Grace thought back to Neil and her day in as their second date and smiled.

"At home" She said and they replied 'oooohhh'

"In bed no doubt" Stevie joked before saying "Shut up everyone. Work or home?"

"Work. _"No contest there. _Stevie smiled in anticipation at her next question.

"Would you rather sleep with Smithy or Neil?"

"Neil." Grace replied before realising what she said and clamping her hand over her mouth, blushing. Everyone looked at Neil who was blushing self consciously thinking_ God I wish there was a way to get out of this, it was all going so well before._

Everyone around the table had started their own conversation about the new gossip, while Smithy and Stevie grinned openly and gave each other a high five.

"We did it. We got them to open up without actually saying anything ourselves." Stevie said, starting to do a mini victory dance.

"Must be a first for you Moss, not saying anything." Smithy retorted as Callum cut in,

"So is this what you two were doing earlier? You two had just found out. Hmm.. Oh you owe me a tenner Smithy." He said cheerfully, as Smithy groaned and got his wallet out.

"What did you owe him for?" Stevie asked stopping her victory dance looking confused.

"Oh nothing he just bet he could find out what happened earlier when he spotted me trying to follow you into the bathroom." Smithy chuckled, and laughed even more when he saw Gina turn around from her conversation with Jack and go "You followed Stevie where…why may I ask?"

"Because we were running away from Neil who somehow knew we were watching him and he came running after us." He said as Callum roared with laughter.

Grace could tell everyone was talking about her and Neil as she looked around the table and cursed her big fat mouth for accidentally letting slip,___Stevie knew exactly what she was doing when she asked me that._

A phone started to ring and she looked in her bag in hope that it was hers and she would be granted an escape from the room.

"Hello?" She looked up as the ringing died and Neil answered the phone, he looked relieved for an escape but that expression soon died on his face as he said, "right I'll be right there, I'm leaving now, I'll see you there." He got up and grabbed his coat, he cast a glance in her direction and said "See you tomorrow."

He shared a look with Banksy before leaving.

"What was that about?" Grace asked Banksy who seemed to understand where Neil was going as he started grabbing his and her coat to leave.

"Come on Grace I think we better go. It's about you know who, you know where."

Stevie, Smithy and Callum had all watched this with great curiosity before asking annoyed, "Who's he talking about Voldermort?"

Banksy whispered in Grace's ear , "I think it's Jake and he's taken a turn for the worst."

**Please tell me what you think…..Good or bad ?**

**Hope to have the next one up soon ;)**

**Lucy ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed ;)  
I'm sorry it took so long to update but schools gotta come first…or so my teachers say**** : P**

**I hope you like this chapter !**

Neil ran to his car, opening the door as quickly as possible, he didn't even spare a second thought to the gossip in the pub; he just needed to get to hospital. He managed to feel guilty when he saw Grace and Banksy run out of the pub in an attempt to help but he just started the car and headed to the hospital. He drove like a maniac and was sure that if his car wasn't known by the Sunhill police officers then he would already have been given a speeding ticket, but thankfully everyone seemed too scared to call in the DI so he sped on and was at the hospital in minutes. He rushed out the car into the hospital to the reception desk.

"Um….excuse me..." he wheezed out of breath as he got there, "could you tell me where I might find my son Jake Manson he was moved this afternoon?"

The receptionist looked concerned by his panting but even she had enough sense not to ask him to sit down, his face was murderous. Looking down at her schedule a new kind of frown plastered her face. "He's still in the operation theatre sir…I'm sorry but he'll be a while…he's down in ICU-"

Neil didn't wait for directions, he ran down already knowing the way through the hospital, apart from the fact that he was a police officer and knew the way around anyway but he had practically lived in the hospital for days on end when Jake was ill. He ran down the steps almost falling down them at one point but didn't stop until he saw the back of Phillipa's head. They had gotten used to each other by now and any dislike they had had for each other had now turned into a comradeship as they both had been at Jake's side while he was fighting for life and were now quite close, well as close as any two ex's could be.

He was bursting with questions by now and, out of breath, he gasped. "Pippa! What's happened? I thought he was getting better. Where is he? Wh-"

"Hold up Neil! He's in theatre now, they don't know what has happened, and they just know that it's serious." She pointed to a window she was standing watching intently to what was happening before she watched as he sank into a nearby hospital seat and put his head in his hands, knowing that not minutes ago she'd been doing the same. He seemed to calm down after a while and seemed just as resigned as she as he went and stood next to her, by the window, watching the surgeons trying to save Jake's life.

Neil frowned slightly as he looked for something to talk about, instead of the lifeless body that was being operated on. "What? No Liam?" Neil asked looking around for the young man that he'd grown accustomed to. Phillipa sighed, clearly upset.

"No. I think he's finally gotten sick of the late nights and rushing in and out of hospital. No Grace?" She asked as she realised that she wasn't with Neil, she and Grace had actually against Neil's expectations become really good friends, probably because they actually showed more emotion than a rock, whereas the blokes were always too dignified for that. Or at least Neil tried to convince himself, after the last treatment, where he nearly broke down.

"No. She's still at the pub, I think." He sighed.

"She gotten sick of it too?" Phillipa asked disappointed.

"No. I just left her there because I had to come here as quickly as possible." Phillipa just managed a slight grimace intended to reassure him but they just stood there, waiting for their miracle.

Smithy and Stevie looked at each other confused as Grace and Banksy left, while Callum just looked amused.

"Looks like you two only knew half the story then, there's obviously something more going on, Banksy's in on it and I intend to find out what it is." He said as he got up, for an obviously intentional dramatic exit to the pub.

"Loser. " Smithy snorted as he took another beer off a tray that had just come full of drinks, he looked around but it seemed that most people had taken Callum's exit as a sign to leave. He smirked at Stevie, his speech slurred slightly, eying the drinks, as he said. "You in the mood for a drinking game ….? 'Cos it looks like we got a lot to finish off." He laughed as Stevie just took a shot of Vodka and just took that for a yes.

Grabbing another shot he necked it back, smothering a wince at the foul taste, Stevie grinned at his obvious cover up. "Aww is big brave soldier Smithy too weak for vodka?" She cooed as he glared and made a grab for another.

Grace pulled Banksy along with her as she ran out of the pub worried, but not for the gossip that she knew was probably stirring now they had left rather dramatically, she was really worried for Neil and most of all Jake.

She shivered involuntarily, as they ran out, and Banksy spared her a sympathetic glance before hurrying off to the car park, hauling Grace along behind him. They watched as Neil's car sped off without them and jumped into the car as soon as they could.

"Follow that car!" Grace said, she saw Banksy's mouth pull into a small smile, as he started the engine; I_'ve always wanted to say that! _She thought, as Banksy put his foot down and raced after Neil's car. They both knew where he was heading and within fifteen minutes they managed to get there and not bothering as they parked on double yellow lines, and flashed their warrant cards to a doctor as he opened his mouth to reprimand them.

Getting to the reception desk Grace left the talking to Banksy as she scanned the room for any sign of Neil.

"Um, excuse me, can you tell me which ward Jake Manson is in please?" He asked, she looked at him disbelievingly.

"Are you family?" Grace's head whipped around as she cursed annoyed.

"No" Banksy said, managing to keep his cool. "But we do have to speak with Mr Manson very urgently." He whipped his warrant card out and Grace hastened to copy, as he managed to keep his bluff.

"O-of course I'm sorry he's down in ICU undergoing surgery-" Grace dragged him off before he could say 'Thank you' and mirrored Neil as she ran down the stairs, Banksy catching her as she stumbled.

She all but ran to Neil when she saw him. "Neil! What's happening? How's Jake?"

"He's still in surgerory." He sighed as grace pulled him into a comforting hug. "Sorry for not waiting for you, but I needed to know he was alright." He smiled as Grace hugged him even tighter in response.

Banksy stood awkwardly to the side of them, observing their conversation that just confirmed what all the rumours had been saying. Before he turned to the women next to him, holding his hand out. "I'm Banksy. Nice to meet you." She took his hand.

"Phillipa. I would say that this is nice but I'm afraid it's not." She said sighing, and he grimaced his sympathy. "Hey Grace. It's good to see you again." She said as Grace turned to her, and hugged her.

"Hey, Phillipa….how is he?" They both sighed and went to sit down as Banksy and Neil just stood awkwardly, eyeing each other.

"I really don't think we need to hug, Guv." Bansky said smiling as he saw a shadow of a smile on Neil's face.

"Yeah, me neither." Neil said, looking slightly more comfortable as he turned back towards Jake.

"Don't worry I'll cover for you on Monday if you need to take a few days before coming back to work."

"Cheers." Neil replied, clapping Banksy on the back in a gesture of appreciation.

They all stood there knowing it was going to be a long night….

Stevie and Smithy were fully drunk as it reached four in the morning and were both giggling to themselves over something really not funny that Smithy had just said, as the barman came over and said, "Hey I'm closing up now, and I really think you've had enough to drink, don't you?"

Bursting into a fit of giggles they grabbed their stuff and stumbled out of the pub.

"Spoil sport." Stevie mumbled as they sat down on a bench outside.

"How about we call a taxi, and we can have a few more drinks at my place?" Smithy suggested.

"Sure." Stevie said, as they caught each others stare and burst into a new fit a giggling, neither of them knowing why. Their gaze locked together again and they both stopped laughing as they found themselves closer together than intended, their lips inches apart. Stevie licked her lips in anticipation and Smithy leaned forward.

They both jumped as phone started ringing. Stevie ducked her head as Smithy coughed self-consciously, the moment broken. Smithy pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered his voice throaty, "Hello? Smithy here…..Uh huh….okay….I'll be right there."

Stevie raised her eyebrows at him questioningly, trying to recover from her embarrassment. "Who was that?"

"Oh, it was Jo. She needs help on the shift tonight, and I owe her one from a few nights ago. I'll have to sober up a bit but still." Stevie nodded, and grinned as she looked up.

"You owe me now for not giving me some more alchohol, and I'll think of some thing really gruesome for you to do to pay me back." Her smile widened as he groaned. "I'll get you looking in toilets and dumpsters for the most little jobs." She finished mock threatening.

"Great." He said sarcastically. "I'll see you , hey, here's money for the taxi." She grinned at him as he walked away in direction of the station, both thinking back to their near kiss, wondering what it could mean, there had been that whole thing with the undercover but they were only friends…Right?

**Please tell me what you think **

**Good or bad I don't mind …**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon **


	6. Chapter 6

**There is no excuse for how long this took to post up but now I'm back on track so the next one won't take as long :D**

**Hope you enjoy!**

"Neil, you should go." Phillipa sighed massaging her head as she did so, which Neil always took to mean she was upset,(something he had picked up on when they were married) he paced the ward again; the only way he could vent out his annoyance was by moving or doing something.

"No. I'm staying by his side. I'm not going to leave him. Work can do without me for a few days."

He frowned shaking his head, not believing that she could think he would leave his son at his deathbed, his phone still ringing in his hand. They (being everyone other than Banksy and Grace) were calling asking where he was. Though both Banksy and Grace had already gone to work but both had the sense not to bother him.

Phillipa snorted derisively. "Shame you didn't think that when we were still married, it would have saved a lot of hassle." For a moment they shared a shocked look at each other, both as surprised at each other at what she had said. "I'm sorr-"She began before Neil cut her off.

"Don't worry Pippa, we've both been here all night, you're bound to be stressing out. I suppose you're right though, I call by home, get a change of clothes before stopping by work and telling them I'll be off a couple of weeks and then I'll be right back. Okay?" He sighed again as Phillipa nodded. "And when I come back you can go home for a while. But you HAVE to call me if anything happens okay?" After another nod he looked back down at Jake, who was just out of surgery, and kissed his forehead, whispering as he did so, "Love you Jakey, please wake up, I'll be back soon."

He felt as though invisible puppet strings were pulling him as he forced himself to get up and after another pained look at Phillipa, he left. He hated the nurses, as he passed them he saw their sympathetic stares and felt like shouting at them, 'my son's not dead. So quit staring.' He glared at them as he entered the car park, looking back wondering if Jake was awake.

His phone started ringing again startling him as he was pulled out of his trance, he eyed it nervously as he got in the car before realising that it was Grace calling.

He answered it, knowing that if he had been in a good mood he would have rolled his eyes as as soon as he did so he heard the barrage of questions that Grace's voice was saying. "Neil, Are you Ok? Is Jake Okay? What's happened? How's Pippa coping? How are you coping?" She paused before shouting down the phone, "NEIL WHAT HAS HAPPENED?"He didn't have the energy to smile but sighed instead which only made her sound more nervous and high pitched. "Nei-"

"Grace." She went quiet immediately. "Nothing's happened yet he's still unconscious and the doctors think that he won't be awake for a while yet so Pippa and I are taking turns to go home and get ourselves sorted.

"Oh, well..." Grace said, and he could hear Banksy in the background asking about him.

"Tell Banksy and I'm stopping round the station as soon as, "He interrupted her before she could interrupt, "actually tell him I'm outside now." He said as he parked his car, thinking _I used to think prison was hell for criminals but I'm living in my own personal hell._

He walked purposefully towards CID, ignoring the worried looks he was getting from his colleges.

"Guv, you look like shit." Was Mickey's greeting as he opened the doors of CID but he ignored him and walked into his office without a backwards glance at him, slamming the door behind him.

As soon as he got in he fell into his chair, with his head in his hands, sparing a moment for the gratefulness that the blinds were already closed. He did not want to look week infront of his team. He had spent the whole weekend at Jake's side and had only left once to change, he had not even had time to eat yet due to the hassle of the previous couple of days, so he probably did look as Mickey had so gracefully said 'shit'.

He bit his lip, holding back the tears that threatened to fall, but started to shake and he did not have the energy to stop himself, until a knock at the door pulled him to his senses. Taking a deep breat, he tried to no avail to make himself look unshitted before he called in a voice trembling with unshed tears 'come in'.

The door opened to reveal Grace who looked at him disapprovingly. "I thought we told you to go home." He might have rolled his eyes at that before, _the forces of the ex and the present girlfriend combined, there's no way I'd survive._ But instead he found himself glaring. "What I need to do is sort work out." He refused to look her in the eye as she walked over to him and hugged him. After a few moments of staying like that he finally sighed, "I'm sorry, you're right, I just need some time to think this through, anyway you should be getting on." She planted a kiss on his cheek and he watched her as she left without hesitation.

Grace walked straight over to Banksy fully aware that all of CID's gaze was on her, save Stevie who might be a gossip queen but knew the limits of others privacy, all of whom were talking about their DI's unprofessional exterior, though most ignored the loudest slanderer as Stevie glared at Max.

"Any news?" He asked his frown deepening as she shook her head.

"No and he refuses to listen, he says he needs to work." The whole of CID was watching them now, all trying to use their detective skills to decipher what was happening.

She scowled as she heard the snide remark from Max "Well it's not like he's been doing much work recently."

Stevie, as the ever interfering detective felt it was her time to intervene. "I bet he just had a late one, eh Grace?" Stevie grinned, turning to the rest of CID, hands on hips. "But it's not our buisness to know, so keep your snobby noses out of other people's buisness."

Grace smiled as she watched everybody hastily look down at their work, pretending to be busy. She shot Stevie a grateful look and in return got a very familiar 'watch-your-back' look, that everyone who knew her well knew that she was planning something, accompanied with a "I'll keep Max off your back." And watched as Stevie skipped out of the room, _probably to indulge Smithy in the latest gossip, _she thought before turning to a great pile of reports on her desk, sighing inwardly.

"Bugger off Stone." Smithy said for what seemed the hundredth time, grabbing a bacon sarnie and sitting down next to the rest of the relief, who were all watching the conversation between the two Sergeants with great interest. He tried to ignore Callum as he pursued in asking him questions about what had happened after he left the pub because he 'could tell something big had happened'.

"Come on Dale..." Callum whined, "you're a shit liar, trust me." At this Smithy along with half the relief (being: Tony, Roger, Sally, Ben, Nate, Millie and Mel). "Please Dale..." Callum said, pulling at his shirt, looking quite retarded as he did so.

Smithy heard Tony mutter to Roger, "doesn't this remind you of an old married couple." They both snorted into their cups as Smithy glared at them and Callum along with the rest of the relief look at them confused. He turned back to Callum, groaning as he saw Callum's intensified questioning stare.

"Don't worry Dale, I'll find out, I always do..." Callum reassured him smirking and most of the relief nodded, having all suffered Callum's knowledge beforehand.

"Firstly," Smithy said, moving to the opposite side of the table so that he didn't have to be near him, ignoring Tony and Rogers' renewed laughter, "nothing happened," Callum let out a disbelieving snort that was echoed around the table. He continued firmly, "and secondly don't call me Dale, its Smithy to you. Only my girlfriends or ex-girlfriends call m-" A loud shout drowned the rest of his sentence. "Dale!"

Callum, Roger and Tony burst into fits of laughter as Smithy turned around to see Stevie standing in the doorway of the canteen. He ignored Callum's laughing comment of "Are you SURE nothing happened DALE?"

"Ignore them." He said as Stevie looked from one to the other, questioningly as Tony, Roger and Callum once again burst into fits of laughter. "What do you want?"

Stevie sat down pouting, "can't I have a reason for talking to you Dale?" He ignored the jeering from down the table and turned his back on them.

"No, otherwise you'd have been fired already for the amount of times you've been in my office."

Stevie grinned, "suppose so, though we have managed to get through a lot of cases together." A new fit of laughter issued from down the table as Callum managed through his laughter to say, "Do you mean cases or do you mean _cases?"_ He winked suggestively but upon seeing Smithy's unamused face he ran from the canteen mumbling about 'finishing his shift', causing Roger and Tony to laugh hysterically.

Rolling his eyes he turned back to Stevie, who was looking quite amused and at ease with Callum's teasing. "Well we do love our cases together, don't we?" She winked wickedly at him as the relief laughed at their sergeant's surprised face. "Anyway, I actually needed to talk to you about something Smithy!" Smithy, shook himself from his stupor, trying not to focus on how pretty Stevie looked when she was planning something and rolled his eyes as he recognised the tone of her voice.

"Go on then Moss, tell me the latest gossip on our resident Romeo." He grinned as he saw the glint in her eye and the confused faces around the table.

"Well, he looks like crap this morning," Stevie said seeming unusually solemn, "so I promised our resident Juliet" He grinned knowing that she was talking about Grace but was slightly unnerved by her tone, "that I would get Max off her back. So are you up for another bet?"

Everyone around the table stopped eavesdropping at once; they had all learned the hard way never to be included in their bets as they usually led to a long punishment of paperwork and an earful from Gina Gold.

He raised his eyebrows, "When am I not? What shall we do?" She grinned mischievously.

"Let's see who can pull the best pranks on him." She held out her hand which he took, and they both grinned from ear to ear.

"You're on."

"Neil?" Neil glanced up, cursing himself for not noticing the door opening as Jack in the doorway office, watching him concernedly as he had sat there with his head in his hands. "You look like shit." Some other time he would have laughed out right, but he only managed a dry snort as he thought _like father like son, I just wish my son was as healthy as Mickey._"I've been told." He replied sighing.

"Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you these past few months?" Jack stared at him, full on in the eyes, frowning _Damn! Have I been that obvious?_ He cursed inwardly, glancing at the door he wondered what Jack would do if he made for the door, _probably rugby tackle me._ Something must have shown on his face as Jack placed himself between the door and Neil. "Tell me. I'm not leaving until you do, you've been acting weird for months."

Neil sighed and resigned himself to the worst as he met Jack's gaze, "Jake has Leukaemia." Whatever Jack had been expecting, it was evidently not this as he stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at him.

**Please review :D**

**Lucy **

**Next chapter should be up soon !**


End file.
